Issho ni (Together)
by SirDragneel
Summary: Natsu and Lucy, and the ups and downs of their relationship. [One-Shot/drabble series]
1. Stray

**A/N: Ok, this is for Sokaiye~ A gift, if you will~ X3 I hope you enjoy!~**

* * *

Lucy glared, fighting off the pair of puppy eyes. Well, two now, actually. As if her boyfriend's onyx eyes weren't enough, he had to go and find him a pair of baby blue ones to help him out.

"NO, Natsu. We do not need a puppy." She said sternly to the pink haired hale, and the little black lab pup.

Natsu whined "But LUCY, it's a PUPPY!"

Lucy fought the urge to pinch his cheeks and give in, but she already let him bring a cat in their apartment, they did NOT need a puppy to help stir up trouble!

The older male pouted, snuggling into it "But you said you'd rather have a dog..." he said in that cute "I'm a 2-year-old, love me" voice he had.

Lucy sighed, putting her hands on her hips "I meant instead of HAPPY"

Natsu gasped "You wanna get rid of Happy?! but he's nakama!"

"That's why we're keeping him, and not this stray" Lucy reasoned

Her boyfriend blinked "Weren't you a stray too?"

Lucy stopped, realizing it was kinda true... he DID take her in after she ran away from home...

He grinned at her "And I took you in, and loved you too~"

Lucy said nothing for a few seconds, as a light blush covered her cheeks, before she smiled softly, sighing "Ok... We can keep the dog..." He seriously could say some REALLY sweet things sometimes... But this was why she really loved her boyfriend

"Can we get a stray fish next~?"

"Is that even possible? Plus, wouldn't Happy eat it?"

"Huh... Maybe we can inject it with kryptonite!~ And it'll be-"

"Don't even finish that thought."

But of course, he was still an idiot sometimes


	2. But Different is Good

Natsu and Lucy stared blankly at the pair, as they walked off, Gray laughing lightly as he slung his arm around Juvia.

Gray had been teasing Natsu for some time because Natsu rarely bought gifts for Lucy, or took her out to special fancy places, and neither Natsu, nor Lucy, quite understood it. Lucy didn't see a need for flowers that would wilt, cards she would throw away, or chocolates that would make her gain weight, and Natsu didn't care much to buy them, because he found them as pointless as Lucy.

They explained this to them, but Gray only laughed more, and asked what they DID do together.

Well that was easy, they did everything together. But even they had their special things they did together.

* * *

Lucy sighed as she sat down on their apartment's sofa, while Natsu raided the fridge for food.

"Are we SUPPOSED to do those things..?" Lucy asked, absentmindedly

Natsu stood up straight, looking towards the back of her head, which crept over the couch "Do we even have _money_ to, is the question" he added, starting to pulling varies foods from the fridge, as he started preparing to make something to eat.

Lucy nodded "true... but... what super special romantic things do WE do?" She questioned, turning to see Natsu.

Light laughter filled the kitchen "Today is Friday you know" Natsu spoke, as if hinting to her.

Lucy blinked curiously "Yeah, and..?"

Natsu hummed lightly, as he finished what he was making, which was just stove top macaroni, and handed a bowl to Lucy, before pecking her forehead and seating himself by her "well, I don't know about you, but spending every Friday night, staying up late, eating junk food, watching horrible romance movies, and playing video games with my awesome best friend and girlfriend is pretty damn romantic to me~"

Lucy blinked, before blushing, realizing that, even though it's not what most people call "romantic", it had always fit for her and Natsu, and this night, they never knew HOW it would end. One night it ended with Natsu pulling her in bed, another they accidentally got into sake that Erza left there, and passed out in the bathtub, and another they played board games all night. But no matter what way it ended, she always had butterflies in her stomach the whole time.

That's right... It didn't need to be a fancy dinner, a fireworks show, or a bouquet of roses... As long as they both felt that warmth in their chests, that was all Lucy needed to classify it as "romantic"

The blonde, smiled before tossing the remote to Natsu "Yeah, and it's your turn to pick the movie~"

Her boyfriend smirked "and you pick the game~" he said, as he turned the TV on, and scrolled through the worst movies ever on Netflix.

Lucy smiled, snuggling into Natsu's side. Cuz screw Gray. This was damned romantic, and nothing would ever change that! Because they were different from normal couple, but that was okay too.


	3. 50 Reasons

"Lucy!" The pinkette yelled at his blonde best friend, before she could get in her apartment

"Ara? What is it..?" Lucy asked, as Natsu quickly met her at the door

"W-Will you go out with me?!" He asked quickly, stuttering over the sentence a bit, cheeks tinted a bright red

Lucy stared unblinking at the male, silently, before swiftly pulling a piece of paper out of her pocket, and placing it in his hands, ultimately confusing Natsu.

"Uhm, what is this?" He asked after awhile

"50 reasons" Lucy stated "Why we probably wouldn't work out"

"so you thought about going out with me?~" He asked slyly, a smirk working it's way his face, making Lucy hit him upside the head

"B-Briefly! Because... I knew you would fall for me eventually!"

"Riiiiight"

With that, he opened it "Lets see here~"

And silence followed, as his eyes scanned the list, looking amused as he read, until he finally spoke;

"Odd hair color...

Too aggressive, and hot-headed

Always picking fights

What about my _safety?-_" He said that part with disbelief

"Lisanna..?

Too young for marriage

Too young for _children- _Ok, this is just ridiculous." He finally stopped, tearing the list to 100 different pieces, causing Lucy's eyes to go wide, gaping as the pieces flew into the breeze

"for starters, the _hell _does my hair have to do with this?! And secondly, you're thinking WAY farther ahead than I am, I just wanna go on a date with you! Third, we've been practically living with each other for YEARS, and have been best friends the entire time! And you always put up with me! What makes dating you any different?!"

Silence.

How long ago did Lucy write this? And what the hell was she thinking? She already knew she loved him... Maybe she was just scared of getting hurt...

"Lucy..." Natsu finally said softly, grabbing her hands "I would never hurt you... And I'd do anything for you... All I'm asking for is one date, and if you hate it that much, then we'll never speak of it again, kay?"

After some time, Lucy gripped his hands tightly, with a smile "H-Hai... Arigatou, Natsu..."

Yeah, and wait until she told THIS embarrassing story to their kids. Smooth move, Heartfilia.


	4. Fairy Tail Halloween

_**Ok, consider this my little apology gift to my dear best friend for being gone for awhile, and for not writing for MONTHS. I am writing Honor Students again, but be warned, I am a bit rusty in my typing, so bear with me, and enjoy a sprinkle of NaLu in your day with some Fairy Tail craziness :D**_

_**Enjoy~**_

* * *

Natsu and Lucy stared blankly at the chaos around them, unsure of how the "simple halloween party" escalated into "everyone get drunk off your ass and shove candy down the toilets till everyone had to go to the gas station to take a dump"

The unbreakable duo has reluctantly agreed to go to Fairy Tail's celebration, for the reasons of, for one, preferred spending this time together, watching scary movies, and another, they ALWAYS ended up in catastrophe.

Erza was especially the one you didn't want getting hammered, but of course, she was. And of COURSE, she was beating up "Jellal" with looked strangely like Warren, for duplicating himself and locking her in a closet while he ate her strawberry cake.

Max was... well, lets say doing some "rated M" things with a broom (Natsu swore they needed a new broom every week cuz of that guy), while Jet was crying, saying he was cheating on him.

Droy was stuffing his face with candy, Gajeel and Levy strategically exited the building, while Juvia was beating up every girl for watching "her beloved Gray-sama" strip, and even some guys.

And when I say strip, I mean he was literally putting on a strip show on the bar, dancing around and scarring Natsu and Lucy for life.

"Well, I can't say I didn't see this coming..." Natsu said over the ruckus, pulling a nodding Lucy closer into his chest

"Maybe next year lets just go trick or treating..?" Lucy said, as the pair ducked under a flying bowl of candy

"I think that's a given..."

Lesson learned. NEVER go to any kind of celebration at Fairy Tail. It only ends in bloody drunkenness, with a side order of "broom love" and "ice stripping"

* * *

Natsu and Lucy made their way home, after finally slipping away from the shenanigans, reveling in the quiet comfort they found in each other. Parties could be great and all, but there were times when one should just avoid them, and spend some alone time with their respective partners.

Especially when you're married and your "mate" is three months pregnant with your first child.


	5. Faithful That You're Loyal

_**OK. I finally watched the first episodes of the new arc and... DAAAAMN THE FEELS. I'm mad at Loke and Virgo the most. Loke for leading the whole charade, and Virgo for hurting Lucy as much as she did!**_

_**But if I did get anything from it, it was how CUTE it is, how loyal Natsu is to Lucy XD she's like, the only one who can truely shut him down, and Natsu listens to her a lot. And he will seriously do anything to make sure she's happy, and even when Lucy was getting beat up, he listened for a surprisingly long time, considering the circumstances XD**_

_**So I just HAD to write on that loyal bond they have~ The trust~ The caring~ The... LOVE~~ *wiggles eyebrows suggestively~* so I'm writing this :3 I hope you enjoy me stalling my other story XD**_

* * *

All was bright and cheerful in the Magnolia park.

Except for a certain patch of gloominess on the bench, called Lucy Heartfilia.

Way was the blonde so upset? Well, the only thing that could get her THIS depressed was getting in a fight with her feisty BFF, Natsu. And as you may have guessed, that's exactly what happened. She had been hanging out a lot with this new guy in their high school, Mark, and according to Natsu, she had barely glanced at him in over a week. Seeing how much he loved her attention, this proved troublesome for him, so he began trying to get her attention, which was harder than expected, even though the two shared a dorm.

Eventually, the most effective way became failing. He didn't study, didn't do homework, purposefully answered wrong in all his quizes and tests. it became so bad that the headmaster told Lucy to personally deal with him, forcing her to talk to him. But she only yelled at him for being so unruly, and childish, completely blind to how much she had been neglecting her dear friend, because of her current crush.

After many failed attempts of trying to tell her how hurt he was, his voice and temper rising with each attempt, Lucy told him to; "stop being so clingy and mooching off of me, and to get a real job and get your OWN place!"

And so he left.

Now fully realizing what she had done, Lucy had searched all over town for him, only to come back, kicking up rocks, She regretted telling him to leave, because she never wanted him gone. He was a vital part in her life, that helped her keep cool.

She sighed, and stood, deciding to continue her search.

* * *

By now, it was already dark, and Lucy was sprinting home, praying to god that he had passed out on the couch after eating everything in the house. It's what he usually did when he was bored, and she was gone. (Which had been happening a lot lately)

"Hey, Lucy, whats the hurry?" A familiar voice called from behind her, but it wasn't Natsu's

Lucy turned quickly "Ah! Mark! Well, it's getting late and I can't find Natsu anywhere-"

"Forget him"

Lucy's eyes widened a fraction "... Eh? B-But he's my best friend..! I can't just forget him!"

Mark tsked, as he approached her "He was nothing but trouble for you, and doesn't even trust your choice of men."

"W-Well..." She was at a loss for words, but she usually never had good taste anyway, so she couldn't blame him. Plus his intuition was always spot-on.

Mark grabbed her arm. _When did he get that close?! _Lucy inwardly panicked, but tried to keep cool.

"L-Let me go..." She muttered, trying to pull away from his grasp, but with no luck.

"Lucy, forget him, and go out with me. I can satisfy you in ways he NEVER can" He said with the creepiest look.

Lucy's eyes widened more, as she realized what he meant by; "_satisfy_". He was another of those creeps who just wanted her body..! Damn, Natsu was right again, but this time, he wasn't here to save her, as she struggled more, closing her eyes tightly as she felt the strap to her tank top be slid down her pale arm, before opening her mouth, and shouting the first thing that came to mind;

"NATSU!"

She heard a grunt, and the painful pressure on her arm was released, and she suddenly felt a pair of warm, muscular, and pleasantly familiar, arms wrap around her, pulling her into a firm chest.

"You ok..?" Natsu asked reassuringly, trying to be as comforting as possible

Lucy opened her watery eyes, as she was flooded with relief to see his face again. "Y-You... You actually came..." she blubbered, as tears ran down her cheeks "e-even after I-"

"Luce." Natsu stopped her, going silent for a moment, giving her a quick once over, making sure she truly alright, before continuing "It don't matter WHAT you do or say to me, I will ALWAYS come when I hear you call for me. I told you this MANY times, but you are top priority! Always!"

"N-Natsu..."

"Just as your faith is in me, my loyalty is to you, got that?" Natsu grinned at her, as Lucy cried more, but they were happy tears. Happy that she had someone as faithful, and loyal as Natsu to help take care of her.


	6. Care

"ow.."

"Just sit still, baka.."

"But Luce, that stings... everything does, actually.."

"This is what happens when you get in a drinking contest with Cana and Gray, now shush."

The pinkette groaned and rested his head back on their worn couch, sipping the tea his girlfriend had made him while glaring at the ceiling, as said girl was dressing wounds on his abdomen.

Last night he had made the mistake of accepting a certain challenge from Gray, and he should've saw it coming when the brunette named Cana got involved. Now, Natsu was no light weight, but he was no match for her, but at least he beat Gray. so after laying on the floor for awhile and waiting for the world to stop spinning, with Gray beside him, sleeping drunkenly, nakedly, and sucking his thumb, the alcohol finally got to his brain causing him to do some truly horrible shit.

A lot of fire and vandalism, and more drinks were involved, and lead to him getting in a fight with Erza. Which ended up in him being brutally mauled by the red-headed demon.

Lucy then managed to drag his butt home, and needless to say, he woke up to clothes all over the floor and his girlfriend, naked, on his chest. Not to mention to splitting headache. So how did your Saturday night go?

"It's your fault for kissing me before I could finish treating your wounds last night.." Lucy huffed lightly, a cute blush spread on her cheeks

Natsu set his now empty mug on the coffee table, sitting up as Lucy finished "not my fault... You were so cute when you were all concentrating, and smelled like that shampoo of yours I love..~ I can never resist you, Luce~~" Lucy swore she saw him drool a bit.

"You're lucky I love you so much, or you would've been out the window..~" She chided with a slight smile

"You still kick me out the window sometimes..." He grumbled a bit

She laughed lightly and moved to sit by him, and he pulled her against him, nuzzling his nose into her hair and sighing contently

"Baka... you should learn to take care of yourself better..."

"Why should I?~" He said, playfulness in his voice as he smiled against the top of her hair "I don't need to, because I know you take care of me better then I ever could~"

Well she couldn't argue with that logic


	7. Summer's Snow

**Ok, this one got kinda crazy, but crazy things can happen when you're in a committed relationship, right? you get confused, you get tired, you feel like quitting, but if you really love the person, then with some effort, everything will be just fine**

* * *

"That's it! I want to break up!" Lucy cried out, curled up on her bed, holding her pillow tightly

Natsu's eyes widened, freezing up on the spot "Luce... you can't mean that... We've been going out literally for only like, a month" He tried to reason, stepping closer, only to have the pillow Lucy was holding fly at him and hit him in the face

"So better break it off here than have you actually cheat on me later." She growled, knowing she was probably being unreasonable, but she felt hurt, and she was only human after all

"I would never cheat on you! You're too amazing for anyone to cheat on!"

"But you've been hanging out with HER all week! hugging and laughing and-"

"Lucy, you know she's my childhood friend... I hadn't seen her in three years... I promise there's nothing going on-"

"Not from what she said." Lucy spat "You two were gonna get married till she left!"

Natsu blinked. He never remembered having THAT conversation with Lisanna "we never-"

"she said it was bound to happen! you were such good friends!"

"Lucy-"

"It's obvious she likes you! and she made it more than obvious to me!" Lucy started getting louder as she stood "So if it's so inevitable, I'd rather break up with you now than have you hurt me in the end!"

The silence between them seemed loud

So loud

Lucy's chest heaved, and she watched Natsu closely as her slowly turned and walked out of the small apartment. Her chest tightened in pain. She knew it was unreasonable, but what lisanna had said to her really hurt, and her worst fear... Was Natsu telling her he didn't love her...

She was an idiot...

* * *

Natsu was running down the road, no clue where he was going. Away maybe? His heart hurt, his head hurt, HE hurt. He didn't want to leave Lucy, not now, and not like this. he was never one to run from his problems, but he couldn't always be indestructible though and even he had his moments where he just wanted to run.

Fear never registered with him before, but now it hit him strong.

He was scared.

He finally collapsed by the edge of the forest. How far had he run? His chest was heaving and his mind was spinning as her rolled over to face the sky.

Why did it suddenly feel so cold?

Ah. Snow.

He was too exhausted by this point and slowly felt his eyes close.

He just was tired of this.

* * *

It had been hours since he left and Natsu still had yet to come back. Lucy stared out the window with worry as the sudden snowstorm got stronger than before. Wind was howling and snow was blowing around and the sun was going down.

She did the only thing she think of and texted everyone to see if they saw him

_"Levy, has Natsu come by Gajeel's?"_

_"No, sorry Lu-chan, what's wrong?" _

She would respond later

_"Wendy, did natsu come back home?"_

_"No, I'm afraid not"_

Worry coursed through her as she texted her last minute resort

_"Lisanna... is Natsu with you?"_

Lucy closed her eyes tightly. Surely she would burst if he was.

Her phone vibrated with the response

_"No"_

She was filled with both relief and immense worry. What had that idiot done? and to think, this was her fault! She had no time to waste as she quickly ran out the door, grabbing her coat and scarf on the way.

"NATSUUU!" She yelled at the top of her lungs as she ran, trying her best not to cry, for surely the tears would freeze on her face. her hair whipped around her and the cold stung her exposed skin, her chest was heaving and she felt like dropping, but she couldn't she had to find him.

* * *

He felt warm.

He was with Lucy, and she was smiling, and laughing, and happy.

But that was a lie.

He was cold, and she was mad, and she _didn't__ want him there._

This was Lisanna's fault. She said something to Lucy, he knew, and now he wanted more than anything than to find Lucy, and hold her close, and tell her how much he loved her, and go straighten things with Lisanna.

But he was too tired. too sad. If he could stay like this a little longer-

"Natsu!"

He snapped awake, to a harsh reality that it was possibly 10 PM and there was the worst blizzard he'd ever seen going on around him. But then he saw her, and nothing else mattered.

"Lucy..."

"I was worried, baka.." she sniffed, as she wiped her eyes before hugging him tightly "I don't want you to leave me..." She muttered

He slowly hugged back, arms stiff from the cold "I don't ever wanna leave, Lu..."

The blizzard calmed into a soft snowfall as the two stood. They both met each others eyes and knew they had nothing to worry about. They loved each other way too much to let a small bump like this de-rail them

"you know I love you right..?" He muttered, resting his forehead against hers, his eyes defying their usual energy. They were soft, and exhausted.

Lucy smiled weakly, as tears ran down her face "neh, Natsu?"

"mm?"

"when we grow up... lets get married, ok?"

he smiled "yeah~"

The snow was weird that day, in the fact that it snowed at all, and how quickly it went from a frightful blizzard and then to a soft, serene fall. It perfectly reflected the turmoil of emotions between the couple, but they were happy now. They had each other. And they both knew they would never have to be without the other.

"Natsu, I'm kinda getting cold.."

But thank God for snow

"I can warm you up~"

Because that's

"wha-mmph!"

What finally pushed Natsu to kissing Lucy for the first time


	8. Awkward Beginnings

**Ok, It's been awhile since I updated this, and I thought of a cute little thing, so here we go :) I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Natsu wasn't sure how to put his emotions in words. Annoyed? Oh yeah. Aggravated? For sure. Ready to punch Gray in the stomach and rip out his vocal chords because he just _wouldn't shut up?_ Most definitely.

It seemed Gray, Levy, Gajeel, and Juvia were scheming to get him to meet some friend of Levy's. If they were trying to set him up on a date... Natsu sighed in exhaustion at the thought. He wasn't one for romance. Never was, Never will be, he told himself. He was content with the friends he had.

Gray was blabbing with Gajeel about "poor little Dragneel won't know what hit him~" and "He'll probably faint~" And Natsu was staring at his phone (scratch that, he was glaring) hoping they would disappear soon. So maybe he wasn't TOTALLY content with his friends...

* * *

Lucy was frantic. She'd never been on a date before, let alone a blind date! Well, it technically wasn't a date, but Levy made it sound like one. She wasn't about to show up to a date under dressed. So she grabbed a black and red dress that clung close to her hips and legs, and a pair of black heels. She made sure she wore just enough make-up and pulled her hair up into an updo.

The whole way to the restaurant, Levy said how she didn't have to dress up THAT much, but date or not, Lucy dressed to impress. She was a woman of fashion and high society, thus, if she won another heart today, she certainly didn't mind.

She was knocked out of her thoughts, literally, as she bumped into someone. She almost fell over, but said person grabbed her arm before she could. "Whoa!" He said, pulling her upright "You ok there..?"

Lucy looked up, and came face to face with dark obsidian eyes. Despite the dark color, there seemed to be a fire alight behind them. She held back a blush as she stepped back to fully see the person, and saw a spiky pink-haired boy, who was stood in front of two other guys.

Her eyes widened when she saw those two guys were "Gray?! Gajeel?! What-?!"

Gajeel grinned "Well, bunny girl, this is our shorty friend, Natsu~" and with a harsh shove, the pink haired boy (who really was a great deal shorter than the other two) was pushed into her.

Lucy turned to her backup girls, Levy and Juvia, but found blank spots of where they were. "Gone?!" Lucy cried out. Before turning back again to the guys.

Natsu's face was completely red, as he stared at Lucy. It wasn't an intense sultry stare, but more of a "Oh my god!" frantic stare. He turned to Gajeel, enraged. "Y-Y-You..!" He yelled out "What the hell is THIS?!" He then gestured wildly in Lucy's direction, who blinked in confusion.

Gajeel huffed, crossing his arms "A girl? What, you never seen one before?"

Gray chuckled from next to him "Probably not, what with his poor sex-life~"

A vein popped on Natsu's forehead, before he punched Gray in the shoulder "WE'RE 13! WE _HAVE _NO SEX LIVES!"

Gray shrugged dismissively, before crossing his arms as well. "Well at least I have a girlfriend..."

The pinkette rolled his eyes "And at least I don't give a shit."

Gajeel pushed the two feuding friends apart "Hey, Listen, We didn't ASK her dress up. Maybe she just REALLY wanted to meet you. Either way, she's your problem now. Go in, go eat, and walk her home. Bye." and with that he dragged Gray away, leaving the two standing there awkwardly.

* * *

Finally, the night was nearly over... Natsu was so embarrassed the whole time, because she decided to look like a-a supermodel! He was just wearing a t-shirt, jeans, and converse. And he swore he heard people make comments about his state of dress the whole time at dinner, and even as they walked home.

"This was incredibly awkward..." Lucy finally spoke for the first time since they left the restaurant.

Natsu nodded, with a grim expression "mm..."

More silence.

"I like your shirt."

Natsu's eyes widened, and his head snapped toward her. "M-My shirt?"

She smiled and turned to poke his chest, where a cartoon dragon was printed on his shirt, and words underneath saying "Sorry, I only speak dragon"

"I think it's cute~" The blonde said, before turning to look forward again.

Natsu was silent for a moment as he processed this. "Thank you... I was certain you thought I just looked like some huge dork..." He mumbled

Lucy glanced back up at him "No, I shouldn't have gotten carried away and dressed up so much..."

They stopped as they reached her door, and Natsu felt his throat tighten as he looked at Lucy again. Oddly, he felt like he didn't wanna be apart from her.

"Well, bye! Thanks for today, I had a lot of fun~" And with that Lucy ran up the stairs to her door "I'll see you in class tomorrow!" were her last words.

...

Natsu couldn't believe he was in the same class as this amazing girl, and never even realized it.


	9. A Loving Mistake

Their first time they had any… intimate actions… It had been 100% accident. Natsu and Lucy weren't quite sure what to do afterwards, trying to find who was at fault, and in the process, started unconsciously avoiding the other, afraid of how the other felt.

It had been Lucy's 21st birthday, so of course, her friends took her out to drink, but being it was her first time drinking, she didn't know her limits, or signs to look for of when to stop. Natsu had been fairly buzzed himself, so when Lucy randomly kissed him while he was coming back from the bathroom, he got too caught up in the emotions his alcohol had supplied.

Upon waking up the next morning, the two were racked with dread and fear. Neither really minded who it was done with, but the timing felt so ill placed it made them want to puke, and not from the alcohol.

Lucy was already gone by the time Natsu had woken up, which hurt him more than the splitting headache. He had instantly called her, but she denied the call. He tried calling Levy, Juvia, and Cana too, but they all ignored and denied him as well.

In the end the only one who would accept his call was Erza and Gray, while he was halfway to their campus. He felt his heart physically shatter when he found out all the girls had been holed up in the girls bathroom, trying to calm her down.

He ended up skipping all classes that day, sitting on a bench in the courtyard, hoping he would turn to dust and blow away with the light breeze that continually pushed wisps of his hair out of his face.

"Why are you sittin' here lookin' like shit?" A familiar voice said, as Gajeel appeared and sat beside him, not looking at the depressed man next to him.

Natsu huffed in annoyance, not bothering to look as well. "Well, I'm pretty sure Lucy hates me now…" he grumbled, running a hand through his hair.

Gajeel let out a snort in laughter "Ah, yes, I heard about your little escapade last night, from Levy… Shrimp says your girl has been a mess all day…"

Natsu shot him an irritated glare, "I _know_ metal face." he practically growled, which made Gajeel grin more.

"You're pathetic." He decided, but before Natsu could retort, he kept talking "If she means so much to ya, then why haven't you tried to find her yet?"

His eyes widened at that, before he opened and closed his mouth like a fish "I… uh… She probably doesn't want to see me… She ignored my calls-"

Gajeel sighed in exasperation, standing and turning to look at the shorter, pink-haired, male "Look, I know you need to respect her space sometimes, but the girls had literally all day to mope about it If I were in your stupid, out of style, shoes, I woulda' found her and told her what _I _felt about it. You two sorry love birds aren't gettin' anywhere by 'giving the other space'." he said sternly, starting to leave "Get your act together before you lose yer chick" was the last thing he said, and Natsu couldn't help but grin.

No matter how rough Gajeel's exterior was, he knew he was really a softie at heart. He immediately stood and took off to find Lucy.

He had searched the whole campus by the time he realized Lucy had already gone home, which rather pissed him off as he was now really tired from running around like a madman, but he decided to forget it and rushed after Lucy urgently, and probably nearly gave her a heart attack when he bust into the room while she was changing.

"N-Natsu! What's-!" Her eyes were wide and panicked, which is how Natsu felt, and he instantly approached her, and pulled her into a hug, making the girl stiffen, especially when she heard what he had said.

"_I really missed you…"_

Lucy's eyes watered, and she couldn't find the voice to answer.

"All day I just wanted to see you… A-And I get that you were mad, but I was mad too… Mad at myself, at alcohol, at LIFE… Mad that I was the one who hurt you... " he went on, not giving her a chance to speak "But if this did end up ruining everything, then I wouldn't want to leave you without telling you how much _I love you_."

Lucy gasped lightly, and slowly pulled back to stare at him, finally swallowing the lump in her throat "I-I… You… _Love me_…?" she asked in shock

Natsu raised a brow "You're focusing on that? I thought it was obvious, not to mention I said it about a million times last night…" He drawled, and fliched as Lucy broke out in tears "H-Hey, I'm sorry if it's too much-!"

"No!" She stopped him, sniffling "I-I love you too!... I-I just didn't remember hardly anything, a-and, I had to be DRUNK, and I was so embarrassed, and was afraid you were upset at me for just attacking you like that-!" Natsu shut her up by slamming his lips against hers, also smashing their noses together, but they overlooked the minor detail.

"Lucy… While that's not how… We wanted it to happen… Nothing will EVER make me not love you. And if you don't remember me saying it back then, then I'll say it so many times you don't forget!" he decided, and Lucy gasped, which turned into a laugh, as he swept her off her feet, spinning her in a circle while repeating the words '_I love you'_ like a mantra that he had to recite, or else he would die.

And he continued saying it up until the moment her head hit the pillow, and her eyes closed for the night, but not before saying one last time;

'_I love you too, Natsu…'_


End file.
